15 Evidences of Genuine Faith Part Six

15 Evidences of Genuine Faith—Part Six

7/26/2024

We've reached the end of our study on the

We are coming to the end of the study on fifteen evidences of genuine faith found in 1 John. Remember John emphasizes the assurance that we can have as believers to know that we have eternal life in his theme verse – 1 John 5:13. Knowing Christ gives great hope to people in times of change and uncertainty and allows us to exercise genuine faith as John teaches here. This has been a great study for me, and I hope you have benefited from it as well. Let’s review the first twelve points we have covered.

Let’s examine 1 John 5 for the remaining 3 evidences of genuine faith.

"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the One who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that He has borne concerning His Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning His Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.

If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols." 1 John 5:1-21

13. Powerful Overcomer (5:1-5)

John continues from the previous chapter to write about love and how a person who is born of God will love Him and will love other believers as well. This is not just a verbal assent, but John takes it a step further by explaining that the actions of a person who loves God will be evident in his obedience to God’s commandments. So, in essence, to love God is to keep His commandments according to 1 John 5:3. The power for this love is found in the next two verses. God’s commandments aren't meant to burden believers (Matthew 11:28-30). He is the One who empowers us to have that victory. I love the word victory in 1 John 5:4. You know it in the Greek, I promise! It is the same word that is printed on shoes and shirts worn by millions of people each day – NIKE! Victory is available for every believer. It is our faith resting in Christ that allows us to be powerful overcomers in this world and find victory in Christ. One hymn writer put it this way – “Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.” What a wonderful knowledge that we have the secret to overcoming in this world! Our faith in Christ is the answer to continuing victory in our lives today!

14. Possessed Record (5:6-12)

John goes on here to tell us that the Object of our victorious, overcoming faith is only found in the One who “came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ” (5:6). There are several times here that John refers to “the record” or “the witness.” He is pointing to the historical record of Christ’s baptism and crucifixion and also of the Spirit’s witness of the work of Christ on the earth. All three – the water of baptism, the blood of the crucifixion, and the Holy Spirit – are in agreement that Jesus is the Son of God. This is an irrefutable testimony to the person of Christ that is so much greater than even the testimony of men (5:9). Then John reminds us that every believer has this testimony in themselves. This life is found in His Son! What a blessing to have a personal possession of this divine record written in my heart! Friend, is this record written in your heart? Are you one that John describes as having life? If not, please reach out to us today at IE to let us show you how you can have everlasting life! If you do have this possessed record, are you living like you have the Son and His life today?

15. Persuaded Confidence (5:13-21)

John is closing his letter now. He comes to his theme verse – “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” All these things he has shared thus far lead to this persuaded confidence. Friend, you can KNOW that you have eternal life, and you can live in the confidence of knowing by experience that you are one of God’s children. Do you KNOW this truth personally? Don’t mistake knowing about salvation or knowing about God for knowing Him personally by your own experience. This word know has that very important distinction. Some of you who are reading this blog may know me personally. We may have sat down over coffee or a meal together or shared some part of our lives together. But I would venture to guess there are people reading this post who only know ABOUT me from reading my bio sketch on the IE guest blogger page or just by reading the posts I share about once a month. Friend, it would be my pleasure for us to know each other personally and not just through IE, but until we meet in person or at least personally interact, you can’t really say you KNOW me. This is a huge point of this whole study! You can’t claim to KNOW Christ unless you have interacted with Him personally.

The next verse takes it a step further. Those who KNOW me would not feel awkward calling me up and asking me to help them in some way. But if someone who only knows ABOUT me calls me and asks me to help them, I might be a bit dubious and might even ignore them. Knowing Christ gives us the confidence to call out to Him in times of need and expect that He will come through according to His will (5:14-15). Do you have confidence in your prayer life that God will answer? If not, maybe you need to examine your faith in this area!

John finishes this chapter and the book reviewing several things we know in I John 5:18-20. In doing that, he circles back to the need to “know Him that is true…His Son Jesus Christ” (5:20). May I encourage you as we close this study with this thought – It is good to know a lot about God, His Word, and even spiritual things, but your success in your Christian life is contingent not on what you know about God but on your relationship with God.

Did these fifteen evidences of genuine faith help you to examine your faith? Did you find an experiential knowledge of Christ through your relationship with Him, or do you just have a head knowledge about Him? Do you KNOW your God? Are you living like you KNOW Him?

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